How can I be a better person?

Each morning when I walk out my front door, I ask for the strength to make good choices.

To think before I speak.

To act in accordance with my values.

To treat everyone with respect, dignity, and kindness.

Some days, I fall short.

Some days, I don’t.

But each day, I stay true to the belief that decisions, good and bad, compound over time and weave together the fabric of a life. 

I try and slow down.

Look up.

Look out.

Look within.

Time

Burying ourselves in a touchscreen is another minute not spent deepening or reconciling a relationship, developing a new skill, being led by our curiosity, exploring, daydreaming, creating, learning more about yourself, the world, and the role you can effectively play in it.

Service

Whether you’re serving food at a homeless shelter or tutoring at an after school program, society works best when we all help each other out a little bit.

It was while volunteering I discovered the best way to put my problems into perspective was by trying to alleviate those of someone else.

Travel

There’s nothing like visiting a foreign country, but you don’t need your passport to explore. 

Each place, near or far, offers a chance to challenge the assumptions you have about the world.

There’s nothing quite as humbling as realizing you’ve been clinging to an idea, or worldview that hasn’t been stress tested and is just plain wrong.

Double-Down on Good

A little can go a long way.

This weekend, I made the flight from San Francisco to Wichita, Kansas. I'd been here twice before, but both trips were nearly half my life ago.

My father and mother, uncles and aunts, came as well. 

We all arrived to support my cousin's graduation from high school.

I didn't think twice before booking my flight and I suspect most of my family didn't either. 

Still, my uncle was clearly very moved by the effort we'd all made to support his daughter; a gesture he won't forget.

It dawned on me this morning, the seemingly insignificant acts we make, both good and bad, can make an indelible impression.

We should make an effort to double-down on the good ones.

Showing Up on Time

Your credibility can erode by the second. Literally. 

Honoring your commitments is the easiest way to communicate you’re invested in both the mission at hand and the people you’re leading.

Arriving on time may seem insignificant, but it’s the simplest behaviors, good and bad, that compound over time and make all the difference. 

Showing a reverence for the only resource we can’t make more of exemplifies the integrity of a person worth following.

Why Allowing for Change is Important

It's unlikely what you want at 25 will be what you want at 45. It doesn’t mean you’ve quit a dream, but that you’ve evolved and so have the things you value most.

I've found it helpful to keep your poise in these moments of doubt and be open to where new opportunities may lead you.

Be Curious

Cling fiercely to a childlike wonder of the world.

Protect your inner tourist at all costs.

Ask questions unapologetically.

Deepen an insatiable need to know.

Seek knowledge for its own sake.

It all begins with paying more attention.

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What I've Discovered About Reading

It's not enough to be a literate reader. One must be an active one. 

Reading a book for understanding is quite different than reading for knowledge. But both are crafts worth honing. 

Our job as the reader is to strive for equality with the writer, who presumably knows more about a subject than we do. 

Lessons from Da Vinci

For years, I read nothing but plays. I was a one-dimensional person. But in time, I discovered I had to diversify my knowledge. 

The more I learned, the more I realized how ideas cross-pollinate. 

And perhaps nobody understood this principle better than Leonardo Da Vinci.

The most famous painting in the world is a byproduct of integrating different arenas of knowledge.

The Mona Lisa was painted by a man who didn’t particularly like being called an artist. Da Vinci preferred to think of himself as an engineer and a scientist.

And because he was obsessed with optics, how light created different shades, and anatomy he was able to blend those disciplines into a masterpiece.

He spent his evenings peeling the skin off cadavers because he wanted to see how tendons and muscles worked, how a person furrowed a brow, or smiled.

He was a man who simply had to know.

Ancient Greek Theater

Ancient Greek Theater started with festivals honoring the God Dionysus in a festival called called, “City Dionysia.

From this event tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays emerge.

The Greeks were the first to write about these integral parts of the human condition and examine it. To the Greeks, theater was a way of holding a mirror up to society and examining our human behavior. 

They went to the theater not to see actors, but to see themselves. 

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How to Bridge the Gap Between Good Taste and Quality

There's a wonderful video floating around by Ira Glass, the host of the radio show, This American Life. In the clip he shares how people drawn to creative endeavors are led by having good taste. But there's a gap nobody ever tells you about.

It's the gap between bridging that good taste with high quality content. It takes years for the two to grow in harmony with one another. And because it takes time most people end up quitting.

But if you're resilient, flexible in your thinking, and understand cultivating any endeavor worth pursuing takes time, the two eventually meet one another. When that happens, it's magic.

The key is to keep producing work. Don't stop. No matter how discouraged you feel or inadequate you're convinced the work is. 

Share your voice relentlessly until you bridge that gap.

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Plus, I’d love to share my free Creativity Day Planner — a simple two -page template on building good daily habits.

Lessons from People Who Don't Care What You Think of Them

Not caring about what others think of you comes partly from getting older.You stop thinking you need to please everyone.

You also begin to realize all the people you thought were thinking of you when you were younger weren’t at all. They, like you, were too consumed with their own needs.

But liberation from judgement also comes from knowing your values and living them. When you know what you stand for and live in harmony with your principles, you don’t get worked up when people are soured by what you say or do.

The folks I admire understand those disagreement have less to do with the person but more to do with the philosophy they’ve adopted for their life.

They possess a resilience in thinking, which says, “This is what I think. You can stay on or get off, but I’m moving on.”

But most importantly, people who don't care what you think believe themselves to be worthy of love, unbridled joy, mindfully exploring what else life has in store for them, and a happy BEING.

They understand that aging is not about an arbitrary number, but about a culture around those numbers they have the power to shape.

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Plus, I’d love to share my free Creativity Day Planner — a simple two -page template on building good daily habits.

Redirecting Ambition

When I was a kid, my father would often be away for 5–6 weeks at time. He would be traversing the planet for work. 

Today, that ambition has been redirected from working towards external rewards to ones that can only come from rich experiences.

Like my folks, the happiest people I know take road trips, travel to far away lands, try new restaurants with friends, pick up new hobbies. All of the things they once claimed to have no time for.

Now that they have the time, they often kick themselves for not making the space for those experiences sooner.

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The Benefits of a Healthy Relationship with Mortality

There’s a lot of joking about death in my house. It's not as ominous as it sounds. 

It's the opposite. 

An awareness of an ever-decreasing time horizon doesn’t instill fear but rather liberates.

Knowing you don’t have all the time in the world has a wonderful way of clarifying goals, forcing one to zero in on what truly matters, and spending time on the relationships you want to deepen.

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Plus, I’d love to share my free Creativity Day Planner — a simple two -page template on building good daily habits.

What I've Learned from the Happiest People in My Life

My folks don’t look at aging as simply surviving but as an invitation to continue to thrive. Blowing out a few more candles doesn’t mean an atrophy of the spirit but rather a reawakening of it.

They also reframe what aging means.

They drink deeply from great literature, talk long walks, travel, and surround themselves with like-minded friends and family.

All have these efforts have contributed to heightening their awareness in all meaningful arenas of life including spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.

As a result, they're less worried, more grounded, and have greater joy.

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If you enjoyed this article, sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter with my favorite book, film, and travel recommendations in addition to my latest articles on productivity and inspiration.

Plus, I’d love to share my free Creativity Day Planner — a simple two -page template on building good daily habits.